Cooper Investors PTY Ltd. Lowers Position in Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO

Key Points

• Cooper Investors PTY Ltd. decreased its stake in Brown & Brown, Inc. by 11.5%, holding 92,540 shares worth $10.26 million, making it the firm's 20th largest holding.
• Recent analyst ratings show a trend of price target reductions for Brown & Brown, with Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo lowering their targets and ratings, indicating a cautious outlook.
• Brown & Brown announced a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, representing an annualized yield of 0.7% with a dividend payout ratio of 17.29%.

Cooper Investors PTY Ltd. lessened its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 11.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 92,540 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 11,993 shares during the period. Brown & Brown accounts for about 1.9% of Cooper Investors PTY Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Cooper Investors PTY Ltd.'s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $10,260,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 1.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,501,119 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,794,339,000 after purchasing an additional 560,980 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 0.3% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,940,046 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,609,742,000 after acquiring an additional 38,078 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Brown & Brown during the first quarter valued at $899,139,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 8.3% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,120,135 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $512,545,000 after acquiring an additional 316,519 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 6.3% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,063,741 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $381,129,000 after acquiring an additional 181,315 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.01% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Brown & Brown

In related news, Director Paul J. Krump acquired 2,678 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $93.31 per share, with a total value of $249,884.18. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 5,353 shares in the company, valued at $499,488.43. This trade represents a 100.11% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bronislaw Edmund Masojada purchased 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $91.44 per share, with a total value of $91,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $457,200. The trade was a 25.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 15.59% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on BRO. Barclays cut their target price on Brown & Brown from $111.00 to $108.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Argus reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Citigroup began coverage on Brown & Brown in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $112.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Brown & Brown from $104.00 to $87.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Brown & Brown from $109.00 to $105.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Brown & Brown presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $112.64.

Brown & Brown Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of Brown & Brown stock traded up $0.89 on Monday, hitting $92.62. 3,377,398 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,576,166. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a one year low of $89.99 and a one year high of $125.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 6.72 and a quick ratio of 6.72. The company has a fifty day moving average of $96.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $107.45. The company has a market capitalization of $30.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.80.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.04. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 15.10% and a net margin of 19.89%.The company had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.93 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Brown & Brown's dividend payout ratio is 17.29%.

About Brown & Brown

Brown & Brown, Inc is an insurance agency, wholesale brokerage, insurance program and service organization. It engages in the provision of insurance brokerage services and casualty insurance underwriting services. It operates through the following segments: Retail, National Programs, Wholesale Brokerage, and Services.